One thing I did enjoy was the concept of a story within a story with the letters from a fan to the author. On the other hand, I feel like this idea could have been more elaborate. I have read other books within a book that worked well, this I thought was a mess and the letters from Leo just broke up any interest or tension I felt for the story that Hannah was writing. Why would an Aussie writer base her book in Boston when she'd never been there?? I don't think any author would do this. How can you write about a place you know nothing about? Unfortunately, I wasn't engaged in the story at all and I finished it only because I had received an ARC.😕 I wasn't really curious about the identity of the murderer nor in the different relationships between the characters. In Gentill’s less-than-successful fourth mystery featuring Australian artist Rowland Sinclair (after 2017’s Miles Off Course), Charles Hardy, a real-life Australian senator, asks for Continue reading »

The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill, Paperback The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill, Paperback

so just a very disappointing narrative choice, which unfortunately made me not interested in the book as a whole. the only reason i finished it was because i needed to know “whodunnit.” Hannah Tigone is an Australian author living in Sydney, writing about another Australian author Freddie (Winifred), recipient of a fellowship which has her living in Boston for a year. She is in the Boston Public Library trying to gather inspiration and finds herself sharing a table with three other people, whom she dubs Freud Girl, Heroic Chin and Handsome Man. And so the story begins . . . I love the cover of this book! I was hoping to love the book, I just couldn't quite get into it. 2.5 stars for the idea. Nothing about any of these people is as it seems, except for Hannah/Freddie, the narrator of the story. If you’ve somehow found this post without reading the book, I have a non-spoilery book review. But this post is my spoiler-filled reaction!

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The novel’s main delight is the Agatha Christie-esque whodunnit set-up that brings together a group of strangers with a common interest in exposing the murderous culprit, each in turn becoming a possible suspect. This book appeals on all levels: the Boston Public Library, which the author describes in enticing detail, is now on my list of places I need to see BIKTB. Bookish people and wannabe writers will appreciate the discussion of the mechanics of writing a novel/thriller. Loads of misdirection, and not one but TWO budding romantic relationships - and, oh no! one of them, according to Freddie, is a KILLER!!! (This blind-siding clue is tossed at the reader very early on in the narrative, so no spoilers here.) Best-known for her Rowland Sinclair detective stories, in this new novel Sulari Gentill puts merriment into a murder mystery. We then move on to Chapter One, (of Hannah’s book) where we will meet Australian author, Winifred “Freddie” Kincaid, living in Boston as the recipient of the Marriott Scholarship, which comes with accommodations in a Victorian brownstone called Carrington Square. The surprising ending was also remarkable. I was thinking to give four stars because the whodunnit subplot’s culprit was a little obvious even though the author tries harder to deceive us by pointing out the other characters as suspects. But the unique two intercepted storylines ( both of them are interesting) and smart ending earned my additional half star.

The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill - Publishers Weekly The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill - Publishers Weekly

Thank you to Dreamscape Media, Poisoned Pen Press, and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

It’s an approach that also filters through her politically shrewd Rowland Sinclair series, the tenth instalment of which was published in January 2022. Set in the 1930s, the charming antics of an amateur detective are underpinned by a subtle exploration of the prevailing issues around fascism, religion and social inequity. As you understood: you just read two plots at the same time and there’s a smart move from the author who also added Leo as a colleague of Freddie at the library murder story which makes us confused more about the motives of the character. This was a DNF for me at 25%. I found it a chore to read with unlikable and unrelatable characters. I couldn't buy the instant friendship between these characters after meeting just once and hearing a scream. WHAT, no way this would happen. Gentill has some opinions on writing about the current pandemic in contemporary stories. However, I think her views were more clearly expressed in the author’s note than it was in the context of the story. In the narrative, these views pulled my attention away from the central plot.